Setting up bottle schedule for back to work

alinafed · October 2014

Hi ladies, I have a question: I will be going back to work in 3 weeks when my son is 9.5 months old. Right now he nurses 4 times during the day (before and after his morning and afternoon naps), as well as having his meals and snacks of solid foods. I'm planning on having my mom give him 3 bottles a day when I'm gone, because the feed after his first nap is usually pretty short and he's already eaten a lot by that time and has lunch soon after. So I'm thinking of a schedule of 8:30 bottle, 11 am lunch, 12:30 bottle, and then 2:30 bottle, home by 4:15-4:30 to nurse - does this make sense? Should I keep the 4th feed in and add a 10 am bottle? I'm a bit worried about how many oz he will eat during the day if I give 4 bottles.... I'm kind of hoping to be able to give him roughly 12 oz during the day (3 4oz bottles) because I think I can hopefully keep up with that pumping. I'd love to hear what kind of schedules your babies are on, what age and how many oz in the bottle... Thanks in advance!

LunaBug924 · October 2014

I'm no expert and I only work 2x a week. I would think it best to mimic your nursing schedule with the bottles. So if he would normally nurse at 10am and you won't be there, he may need a bottle. If anything, I would do 4 3oz bottles and offer them around the same time he would normally nurse. Give it a few days, then adjust as necessary.

I had some trial and error figuring out a bottle schedule too. My DD is still nursing @8 times a day plus a bedtime bottle of pumped milk (she's 5 months). But she sleeps 11 hours straight through the night, so all her daytime feedings are super clustered. I found that while I'm gone she takes about 20oz (I would only nurse her in the morning and she's sleeping when I get home). So I have my MIL feed her 3oz every 1.5-2 hours (5 bottles), then a 2oz "snack" before her bath, and then her bedtime bottle.

Kfran84 · October 2014

@alinafed

The schedule you suggested is almost exactly like what we were on when my DS was 9.5/10 mos old.

Wake up & Nurse

8:30 Bottle & Nap

11:00 solids

11:30 bottle & Nap

2:30 bottle

3:30 PM Snack

5:30 Mom's home- nurse

7:30 Bedtime and Nurse

Good luck! Personally, I sent 4 4oz bottles with one as an "emergency" bottle in case I am stuck at work til 6 or so, but if you get off at 4ish every day, you should be fine with just 3 4oz bottles.

jenn43 · October 2014

My LO is 5 months old, and goes to DC during the day. He takes in 3-4oz bottles while there (9 hours), and will occasionally have a fourth. But on weekends he nurses much more often than that. So your bottle schedule doesn't have to exactly reflect your nursing schedule. I think your schedule sounds pretty reasonable. And you can always send him with a backup bottle so she can give him a couple extra ounces if he seems hungry.

alinafed · October 2014

Thanks for your advice @LunaBug924, @Kfran84 @jenn43. I know there is trial and error but I am such a planner and feeling a bit anxious about keeping up with him through pumping, so your opinions help! Thanks... I think I will try my 3 bottle schedule (maybe with some water or a snack at 10 if he wakes up and seems hungry) and then send an extra bottle as backup too.

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